Yes, I just wash one face and the sides, then put it back in the cave with the dry side down. Tomorrow I'll wash the dry side. This is about 3 weeks since make day, and the only warm period its had was the first 4 days of air drying, after that, it's been in the 10C cave. Go figure.

Hi H-K-J,

I figure swelling is like weeds, try to grow roses and the weeds win, but try to grow the weeds and the roses take over!

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Jeff your wash cycle is what I have been doing, tomorrow my bitzli Swiss will start the warming period, It feels more relaxed than my last one, not so compact and the rind is very flexible and the wash is doing its thingso I think I will know within the next week If the added PS will make it go or blow

Just updating this as to its aging. Has developed a bit of white mould, which requires very little maintenance. Occasionally a touch of wild blue starts to show up, and I just brush it off. Seems to be coming along very nicely.

Sweet looking wheel of cheese. I've been wanting to try one of these but what with only being able to make cheese one day per week I can barely keep up with the local demand (my daughter is leaving for Japan next week so that will ease off the demand somewhat.) Grad school starts next month so then I'll be even more limited in my time....

Thanks. I've been pleased at how little maintenance this has been. You can see a touch of blue in the photo, but that comes off with a simple brushing. Anyway, it's 25 weeks today. I've got the gouda balloon to deal with. It seems ok to eat, will see how the flavour is though. It's not bad, but as it warms up it may just taste off (the more I think of it the more I figure it's a yeast infection of some sort). I've also got a Tomme that could be cut anytime. I might take this out to around 8 months or so.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Thanks. I've been pleased at how little maintenance this has been. You can see a touch of blue in the photo, but that comes off with a simple brushing. Anyway, it's 25 weeks today. I've got the gouda balloon to deal with. It seems ok to eat, will see how the flavour is though. It's not bad, but as it warms up it may just taste off (the more I think of it the more I figure it's a yeast infection of some sort). I've also got a Tomme that could be cut anytime. I might take this out to around 8 months or so.

- Jeff

It is relatively trouble-free and then the flavor &texture are wonderful. It's hard for me to not make a Beaufort.

I've liked the flavor at 4-6 months and it's been tough to stretch it out past that time, but I have that one I did the first week of January. Being patient...

Well, it's six months old now, and as I finished off the Tomme yesterday, it was time to open another cheese. So, as it's my sister-in-law's birthday tomorrow I figured it would be good to make sure this turned out ok. And, it has turned out very nice. It doesn't have eyes, but it does appear to have developed some horizontal cracks which must have been some sort of gass build up. There are a couple very tiny eyes, but nothing much. The taste is very good. A hint of bitterness, but I think that will fade once it has been opened for awhile. The paste is a bit dry and crumbly, but not overly so (it's not been waxed or bagged for six months, so I think that's pretty good moisture retention). I'm quite pleased with it and will definately make this again.

-Jeff

P.S. Yes, now that it's been airing out a couple hours, the bitterness is pretty much gone and the flavour is very nice. I'm not a huge swiss cheese fan, but this is much better than what is in the store.

That dryness was what I was warning you about and why I try to cream-coat after a reasonable rind-drying period. I saw that in my Hispanico and other hard cheese makes. The target ripening point that I have been seeing is 4-6 months for optimum eating pleasure. That being said, I have my Beaufort #6 that I'm experimenting with to see what 12 months' affinage brings to the style. It was cream-coated but I had to remove the coating and vacuum-seal instead.

I like a nice dry rind most of the time with hard cheeses, but if they go too long without some protection against moisture loss, the rind starts to become the dominant "feature" of the cheese.

It's difficult for me to really classify this style as a "Swiss" cheese. Yes, it has some of the characteristic flavor of that style, but it is a cheese with its own distinctive character and qualities, plus which, it has French lineage. Definitely at the top of my repeat list (#6, #7, and #8 this year).

Thanks Boofer! I decided to see how this would fare without bagging or waxing. I've had a number of cheeses just continue to release whey under the seal, and this produces a wet rind that I don't care for. Knowing how it turns out at six months unsealed lets me know that if I hold off bagging for 3 or 4 months, I should be ok I think (past the still too moist point, but not dried out like an old prune). This is definitely a repeat list cheese.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.